Vaccines are going to Americans who need them least: Arizona and Montana are the only two states that have given older people the most vaccines, those living in poor and minority communities, the CDC report concluded.
- A new CDC report looked at vaccination rates in counties where residents were at high risk for COVID due to poverty, race, disability and crowded housing
- Officials found COVID-19 vaccination disparities in about two-thirds of U.S. states
- Only two states – Arizona and Montana – gave more injections to more vulnerable Americans on March 1
- In 11 states, vaccination rates were lowest in areas with all four factors that put them at risk for COVID-19 and highest among low-risk people
Coronavirus vaccines are going to Americans who are at least risk of infection in most American states, a new report has found.
At least 31 states are giving fewer doses to counties where high rates of poor, elderly and minority residents live, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed on Wednesday.
While the remaining 19 states have distributed vaccines to areas of high vulnerability, only two states – Arizona and Montana – have done so consistently.
The CDC says the findings provide evidence of why more personalized COVID-19 vaccine administration and outreach efforts are needed in local communities to reduce inequalities.
A new CDC report found that there were disparities in COVID-19 vaccination – due to poverty, race, disability and crowded housing – in about two-thirds of US states
Only two states – Arizona and Montana – delivered more injections to more vulnerable Americans on March 1. Photo: Nurse Mariam Skertich administers a COVID-19 vaccine to a patient at the Park County Health Department clinic for the 80s and older in Livingston, Montana, January 2021
It is well known that COVID-19 disproportionately affected minorities and socio-economically disadvantaged groups.
That is why several public health leaders have asked not only for vaccine equality, in which similar numbers of doses are allocated to counties, but also for vaccine equality, which occurs when more doses are given in areas of higher risk.
For the report, the CDC classified counties as either highly vulnerable, moderate vulnerability or low vulnerability based on the agency’s 2018 Social Vulnerability Index.
The SVI uses 15 indicators grouped into four themes to arrive at a measure.
These four themes are:
- Socioeconomic status: Living below the poverty level, low income, unemployed, without high school diploma
- Family composition and disability: Residents aged 65 or over or 17 or under, anyone with disabilities over five, single parents and single parents
- Minority status and language: Falls into a racial or ethnic minority, speaks English “less than well”
- Type of accommodation and transport: Living in a multifamily or mobile home, without a car, several people living in the same room
The researchers analyzed the immunizations that occurred during the first two and a half months of vaccine launch, from December 14, 2020 to March 1, 2021.
Across the country, counties with low social vulnerability had higher vaccination rates than counties with high social vulnerability, 15.8 percent compared to 13.9 percent.
When it comes to general SVI and in all four subjects, only two states had better vaccination rates in high vulnerability counties compared to low vulnerability counties: Arizona and Montana.
About 40 percent of injections in each state went to disadvantaged areas, compared to 20 percent for affluent counties.
Three states had higher immunization rates in high-vulnerability counties than in low-vulnerability counties for three of the four themes.
In Alaska, the only exception was the topic of socioeconomic status, while the only exception in Minnesota and West Virginia was the topic of minority status and language.
Vaccination disparities were observed in 31 states and in 11 of those states, the disparity was found in all four themes.
The worst state, New Hampshire, had less than 30% of its vaccines going to areas of high vulnerability.
‘Improving COVID-19 vaccination coverage in communities with high proportions of racial / ethnic minority groups and people who are economically and socially marginalized is critical because these populations have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality,’ wrote the CDC authors.
‘Monitoring metrics at the community level is essential to inform local efforts to deliver bespoke vaccines, which can reduce inequalities.’
